"Let no freedom be allowed to novelty, because it is not fitting that any addition should be made to antiquity. Let not the clear faith and belief of our forefathers be fouled by any muddy admixture."
-- Pope Sixtus III

GEELONG has claimed the club's ninth premiership and marked itself as one of the greatest sides of all time with a stunning 38-point Grand Final win against Collingwood.

The Cats and the Pies were the two best teams of the season and they played out an epic contest in front of 99,537 fans at the MCG, with Chris Scott's men prevailing 18.11 (119) to 12.9 (81).

The win over the Magpies, who had lost only two matches for the season, both against the Cats, gave Geelong its third premiership in five seasons.

Geelong eked out a seven-point lead at three-quarter time after a see-sawing third term that saw the lead change hands five times, but in the last quarter the Magpies couldn't go with the Cats, who finished full of running.

Jimmy Bartel and Joel Selwood both had an enormous influence around the stoppages and it was Bartel who got the nod for the Norm Smith Medal for his 26-possession, three-goal performance.

Tom Hawkins played the game of his career in the absence of James Podsiadly, who was knocked out of the game in the second quarter. After a goalless first half, Hawkins became a focal point when the game was on the line and finished with three goals and gave another to Steve Johnson.

Travis Varcoe got his team off to a dream start when he goaled with just 10 seconds on the clock and the Pies had to defend grimly in the opening minutes.

The Magpies were able to soak up the early pressure and hit back mainly through Travis Cloke, who proved a handful for Harry Taylor, and got in front early in the second quarter after trailing by a point at the first break.

The Cats lost Podsiadly midway through the second quarter when he was up-ended in a marking contest by Ben Reid, who had spoiled strongly. The Geelong forward crashed to the turf on his right shoulder and he was stretchered from the field, with his spot taken by substitute Mitch Duncan.

Scott Pendlebury struggled with a Joel Corey tag early, but he worked into the game well to finish with 33 touches and 10 clearances. He was important in the third quarter when both teams refused to be bowed, but couldn't stop the Cats edging in front.

The Pies needed a lift from Brownlow medallist Dane Swan in the last quarter, but Cameron Ling had successfully nullified him all day and he couldn't shake the tag.

Johnson, who had been under an injury cloud all week, capped an excellent game with the first goal of the final term and when Bartel pushed that advantage out past four goals the premiership cup was headed back to Geelong for the third time in five years.

Scott coached the Cats to a flag in his first year in charge - a feat last accomplished by Alan Joyce at Hawthorn in 1988.

Key match-upsLing on Swan was the only constant tag of the day through the middle and it was an important one for the Cats with their skipper keeping the dangerous Brownlow Medallist to 20 possessions.

Tom Lonergan was sent to Cloke after the Pies' forward got away from Taylor for three goals and he shut him down.

Brad Ottens and Trent West faced off against Darren Jolly, who only had part-time back up, and the Cats' tandem carried the day. They had 56 hit-outs between them while Jolly managed 34.

Rolling the diceSteve Johnson, Jolly and Reid were all under an injury cloud during the week with the Cats' forward considered the longest shot to play after he badly sprained his left knee in a tackle by West Coast's Andrew Embley in the preliminary final, but it was Stevie J who had the biggest influence on the match.

Jolly and Reid, although passed fit from their respective groin injuries, appeared to labour on the day, while Johnson booted four goals.

Tall timberWith Podsiadly knocked out of the contest, the Pies looked poised to take the aerial advantage with Chris Dawes and Cloke at one end and Hawkins down at the other.

But Lonergan's move onto Cloke saw his influence drop right off, and Dawes had a slow start and finished goalless.

Hawkins, who was seen in earnest conversation with retiring Cats' forward Cam Mooney at half-time, elevated his game to another level to take seven contested marks and boot three goals.

Springing the pressCollingwood's success has been built on the stifling forward pressure that has effectively locked the ball into their forward half for long periods, but they weren't able to replicate that against the Cats.

Scott's men kicked long from the back half and created numbers around the contest, with swift ball movement the order of the day and their willingness to play on quickly not allowing the Pies to get organised.

Podsiadly, Lonergan, Mitch Duncan, West and Allen Christensen are premiership players for the first time.

QUARTER BY QUARTER

First quarter - Geelong 4.3 (27) led Collingwood 4.2 (26)

Travis Varcoe gave Geelong the dream start and cast more doubts over his direct opponent Leon Davis' form in big finals, kicking a goal in the opening 10 seconds of the game. Steve Johnson erased concerns over his fitness setting up a second goal to Varcoe only minutes later and leaving the Magpies stunned. Led by dominant ruckman Brad Ottens, the Cats controlled the stoppages and appeared more desperate, highlighted by crunching tackles from David Wojcinski, Andrew Mackie and Allen Christensen. Travis Cloke almost single-handedly dragged Collingwood back into the contest, outpointing Harry Taylor and kicking two goals, including a long-range bomb from 60m. Another goal to Andrew Krakouer put the Pies ahead, but the Cats hit back through miracle man Johnson. The two teams traded goals as the match evened up in the latter stages of the term. Luke Ball restored Collingwood's lead with a goal from a 50m penalty, but Joel Selwood slotted his first to put Geelong a point ahead at quarter-time.

Second quarter - Collingwood 9.3 (57) led Geelong 8.6 (54)

It was Collingwood's turn to get the jump in the second quarter. Inspired by influential players Cloke and Krakouer, the Magpies kicked three unanswered goals to streak to an 18-point lead early in the term. Cloke's dominance forced Geelong coach Chris Scott to move Tom Lonergan onto the in-form forward. Mathew Stokes broke Collingwood's run with his first goal, but Krakouer continued his fairytale season with a fine mark and goal. At the opposite end of the ground, the other fairytale story of the Grand Final involving James Podsiadly turned into a nightmare. Podsiadly dislocated his shoulder after landing heavily in a marking contest and was immediately substituted out of the game. As was the case in the first term, the momentum shifted late in the quarter. Livewire Cat Johnson got involved again, kicking his second goal and a boundary line beauty from Jimmy Bartel cut the margin to three points at the main change.

Third quarter - Geelong 13.7 (85) led Collingwood 12.6 (78)

For the second time in a Grand Final involving Geelong, there was controversy over a goal-umpiring decision. Unlikely hero Tom Hawkins, who stepped up in the absence of the injured Podsiadly, put the Cats ahead with two goals. Collingwood hit back after being awarded a goal to Sharrod Wellingham, but the replay indicated the ball had hit the post. Both teams defied fatigue and intermittent rain to go goal for goal, with Leigh Brown, Bartel, Steele Sidebottom and substitute Mitch Duncan all hitting the scoreboard in the tough slog. Cameron Ling and Joel Corey continued their impressive jobs on Collingwood match winners Dane Swan and Scott Pendlebury. A third goal to Hawkins saw the Cats edge seven points ahead and helped set the stage for a thrilling final term.

Fourth quarter - Geelong 18.11 (119) d Collingwood 12.9 (81)

Hawkins continued his dominance over an underdone Ben Reid, hauling in two marks in the opening four minutes of the final quarter, but missed both shots at goal to take his return to 3.3. The ball landed in his lap again just moments later, but troubled by his goalkicking demons, he had a quick word to Johnson and gave off a cheeky handball to the 2007 Norm Smith medallist, who strolled in and kicked third goal. Goals to Bartel and Varcoe extended Geelong's lead to 26 points and the Pies, who had a tough game against Hawthorn last weekend, had nothing left and saw the margin blow out.

Hank Williams Jr., the singer whose various videos for the hit song "All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Monday Night" has served as the intro to "Monday Night Football" for 23 seasons, compared President Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler during a Monday morning appearance on "Fox and Friends." The statement led to ESPN pulling his popular intro segment, best known to fans for its "Are you ready for some football?" ending, for Monday night's game between the Indianapolis Colts and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

During a discussion on the 2012 presidential race, Williams began discussing Obama's golf outing with Speaker of the House John Boehner. He said it was a political mistake, on par with "Hitler playing golf with [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu."

That's right, kiddies. Almost three years removed from power, CuriousGeorge BushMonkey continues to run the entire freakin' world, from all national economies to trash collection to slapping bad guys upside the head with air to ground missiles.

Citizen al-Awlaki's last words were "Yes, I'd like to be water-boarded in Gitmo, please."

About Me

First of all, the word is SEX, not GENDER. If you are ever tempted to use the word GENDER, don't. The word is SEX! SEX! SEX! SEX! For example: "My sex is male." is correct.
"My gender is male." means nothing. Look it up.
What kind of sick neo-Puritan nonsense is this? Idiot left-fascists, get your blood-soaked paws off the English language. Hence I am choosing "male" under protest.